6. Functlon or Uw Historic Functions (enter categories from instructions) Current Functions (enter categories from instructions) SEE CONTINUATION SHEET - PAGE 1 7. Descrlptlon Architectural Classification Materials (enter categories from instructions) (enter categories from instructions) STONE SEE CONTINUATION SHEET - PAGE 1 foundation walls WOOD: loa, weatherboard; BRICK; STONE: limestone rwf METAL other WOOD Describe present and historic physical appearance. SIIMWARY DESCRIPTION The Newtown/Stephensburg Historic District is located in the town of Stephens City, in Frederick County, Virginia. Stephens City was chartered in 1758 and is the second oldest town in the Shenandoah Valley after Winchester. Its location along the Valley Pike greatly influenced its growth and development. The historic district encompasses a large portion of the town limits and contains a diversity of building styl&s and types ranging from the town's earliest history to the present day. The boundaries generally include all of the buildings facing Main Street and extend one block to the east and west. The architectural resources in the district include several mid-to late-eighteenth- century vernacular log dwellings. The district also contains a large number of early-to mid-nineteenth-century and late-nineteenth-century dwellings and churches. In addition, there are examples of early-twentieth-century dwellings, commercial buildings, and schools. The architectural styles represented in the district include: vernacular eighteenth-century log dwellings with late- nineteenth-century Folk Victorian details; Federal; Greek Revival; Gothic Revival; Italianate; Queen Anne; Colonial Revival; Bungalow/Craftsman; and vernacular I-houses. ARCHITECTURAL ANALYSIS The area now known as Stephens City was originally settled around 1734 by Peter Stephens, one of a group of people who journeyed down from Pennsylvania with Joist Hite in 1732 and settled in the northern Shenandoah Valley. The exact site of Peter Stephens's house is not known, but it is believed to be at the southern end of town on the west side of Route 11 on what is now an empty lot (304-1-44Fk 5). It was Lewis Stephens, son of Peter Stephens, who was the founder of Stephens City and the owner of the original 900 acres that made up the town. Stephens City, then called Stephensburg in honor of Stephens, was chartered in 1758 and was originally made up of 140 lots. .. m~eemndnuation shwt 8. Statement of Slgnlflcance Certifying officialhas considered the significance of this property in relation to other propelties: nationally [lilstatewide locally Applicable National Register Criteria A [SIB q D Criteria Considerations (Exceptions) Areas of Significance (enter categories from instructions) Period of Significance Significant Dates COMMERCE TRANSPORTATION Cultural Affiliation N/A Significant Person N/A ArchitecVBuilder N/A - State significance of property, and justify criteria, criteria considerations, and areas and periods of significance noted above. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE Stephens City was chartered in 1758 and is the second oldest town in Frederick County. Since its beginnings, Stephens City has been a commercial center as well as a major crossroads. Its location at the intersection of the Valley Pike (U.S. Route 11) and the Old Dutch Wagon Road (State Route 277), once a major road from Alexandria to the west, greatly defined its physical and commercial growth. Because routes 11 and 277 were two very heavily traveled arteries through the Valley during the nineteenth century, the types of businesses that operated in Stephens City were oriented towards transportation. The wagon-making trade was an especially important enterprise in Stephens City, which was known for its high-quality Newtown wagons. The historical integrity of the individual buildings and the general townscape that make up the Newtown/Stephensburg Historic District is impressive. Main Street is particularly noteworthy as it has seen very little new construction or demolition since 1941. HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE Located in the lower Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, Stephens City is the second oldest town in Frederick County after Winchester. Originally called Stephensburg, the town was chartered in 1758 by Lewis Stephens, the son of Peter Stephens who settled in this area shortly after 1734. It is situated at the crossroads of Route 11, also known as the Valley Pike, and Route 277, the Old Dutch Wagon Road which was a very important east-west passage through the Valley. The town's location played a major role in the development of the town's transportation industry, most notably in the production of the nationally known Newtown wagon. Stephens 9. Major Blbll~raphlcalReferences See contlnuation iheet Prevlous dooumentalion on file (NPS): ~preiimlnrrydetermlnatlon of lndlvidurl llating (38 CFR 87) Primary lwatlon of rdditlonrl data: hm been requested Stale hlstorlc preerwatlon officr nprevlou8ly ll8ted In the Nallonrl Reglater Other State agency ~previousiydetermined rllglblr by the Nstlonrl Regilter 1Federal qenoy =designated a National Hletoric Landmark Local government C] recorded by Hlstorlc American Bulldln~s University Survey # C] Giher recorded by Historic American Engineering Specify repository: Record # Virginia Deoartment of Historic Resources 221 Governor St., Richmond, VA 23219 10. Geoqraphlcal Data Acreage of property 65 nrrw UTM References A (714101912~01(413~310~210101 5 L71 41 11 01 1101 14131 31 01 11 0101 Zone Easting Northing Zone E~tln~ Northlng C 1714101918101141312191912101 D (714101 8161 01 14131 21 91 5161 01 See contlnuatlon ahrat Verbal Boundary Description m~eecontinuation sheet Boundary Justification mSee continuation sheet -~ 11. Fonn Prepared BY namdtitle MS. W S. KALBIAN - -N orgmlutlon date OCTOBER 28, 1991 rtnrt 6 number Xl!lE 1 BOX 86 telephone (703) 837-2081 city or town RnvrF atrtr VdZIPcod* 22620 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet NEWTOWN/STEPHENSBURG HISTORIC DISTR1CT:STEPHENS CITY, FREDERICK COUNTY, VA 6 ti 7 1 Section number Page HISTORIC FUNCTIONS DOMESTIC: single dwelling multiple dwelling secondary structure COMMERCE: specialty store restaurant RELIGION: religious facility FUNERARY: cemetery CURRENT FUNCTIONS DOMESTIC: single dwelling multiple dwelling secondary structure COMMERCE: specialty store restaurant RELIGION: religious facility FUNERARY: cemetery ARCHITECTURAL CLASSIFICATION FEDERAL GREEK REVIVAL GOTHIC REVIVAL ITALIANATE QUEEN ANNE COLONIAL REVIVAL BUNGALOW CRAFTSMAN OTHER: I-HOUSE 0THER:VERNACULAR 18TH CENTURY LOG DWELLINGS WITH LATE-19TH- CENTURY FOLK VICTORIAN DETAILS. United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuation Sheet NEWTOWN/STEPHENSBURG HISTORIC DISTR1CT:STEPHENS CITY, FREDERICK COUNTY, VA 7 2 Section number Page The 1758 survey of the town shows its original square grid pattern made up of eighty half-acre lots (twenty of those had five acres of land annexed to them) and sixty ten-acre lots. This early layout of the town is still clearly evident in the town's current street patterns and lot sizes. Main (formerly Market Street now U.S. Route ll), Germain (originally named German but changed after World War 11), and Mulberry streets were the main north-south thoroughfares, while Fairfax (State Route 277), Martin, Locust, and Green streets were the primary east-west roads. The majority of the lots close to the center of town were a half an acre in size and extended a full block in depth. Many were later subdivided. The Newtown/Stephensburg Historic District is primarily made up of the core of the original town limits. The integrity of the district is high with one hundred and forty-seven contributing buildings and sites and only forty-three noncontributing buildings. The Stephens family was German, as were the majority of the families that settled Stephens City. German was the primary language spoken and written in the town until the early nineteenth century. Many of the early tombstones in the town's three cemeteries bear German markings. There are many structures in the district that probably date to the earliest period of the town's history. These early buildings are all dwellings, and most have been added to and remodeled during later periods, making it difficult to discern their exact date of construction. The Captain Newcomer House (photo 19) is believed to be one of the oldest houses in town. It is a 1 112-story vernacular log dwelling with a steeply-pitched gable roof and corner fireplaces. The house is sited on the corner of Fairfax and Mulberry streets. Other early dwellings of this type are 5382 Main Street (304-1-54) and the Pitman House (304-1-62), both believed to have been built during the last quarter of the eighteenth century. Another building from this early period is the Dean House (304-1-31), located at 5303 Main Street. This log, two- story, side-passage-plan dwelling is unusual for the fine brickwork of its exterior end chimney and also its brick . Unlted States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Continuatlon Sheet NEWTOWN/STEPHENSBURG HISTORIC DISTR1CT:STEPHENS CITY, FREDERICK COUNTY, VA 7 3 Section number Page summer kitchen. It is one of the few dwellings in the district with any surviving dependencies. There are about thirty buildings in the district that date from the late eighteenth to the early nineteenth centuries. The majority are of log construction